The first thing I notice is there is no photos of any manufactured patches with autographs on them. For a high end product, that is something a lot of people don’t want to see and the fact that it doesn’t appear to be back this year already makes this product an improvement. Thank you Panini for listening to the collector’s comments about those. While there is no official sell sheet out yet, I don’t know if that is completely true, it’s just something I haven’t seen. If they make a comeback I will of course say it’s a bad idea and how I think a high end product should not feature those. But right now, it looks like they aren’t in the product from all of the Panini previews of cards in this product.

Panini National Treasures basketball will feature again the best rookies in the game as well as the best veterans and retired players the game has ever seen. With a case hit roster with autographs such as Kobe, Dr. J, Magic, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Larry Bird you will have a great chance of pulling a legend of the game. Also these may be paired with awesome memorabilia pieces such as the popular logoman parallel or the laundry tag parallel from the player’s jersey. Did I mention there will be some Wilt Chamberlain memorabilia cards inserted? This product is loaded with great stuff.

The design this year is a lot cleaner then last year and it looks sharp. With a ton of on-card autographs this year, the design is definitely improving and will definitely be something to look forward to this year. As always you will find Panini exclusive players like Kobe, Blake Griffin, and Kevin Durant in this product with on-card autographs. Couple that with the other awesome hits mentioned above and there is plenty of nice hits to go around.

With subsets like dual/triple autographs, dual logoman, cut signatures, legends autographs, and colossal patch autographs this is really the high end set for the high end collector.

Panini National Treasures basketball usually features the biggest memorabilia pieces, the biggest names, and the biggest rookies of the year in their product making it a great product to invest and collect from. Some of the best cards of the basketball year are in this product and it looks to be another great product from Panini this year.

This product is set to arrive in August and should be around the same price as in the past around $400 for 1 pack with 8 cards per pack.

Why haven’t I shown the hoop collectors any love recently? The NBA Finals are underway and all I’ve posted is a Caron Butler autograph card I own. I love basketball, I played my entire life, but for the lack of basketball I apologize. Say no more hoopies (that’s what I like to call hoop enthusiasts), possibly the best value in basketball cards is back this year!

2010-11 Panini Season Update basketball is the deal of the summer. I’m calling it right now. For under $65 you get a hobby box with 24 packs and 10 cards per pack. That is 240 cards total! There will be more than 1,000 on-card autographs that update previous Panini releases this season. You can find your Panini exclusive players like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin in these packs too. This box will feature 1 autograph, 3 memorabilia, and 14 inserts in a box. That is why it’s the best deal of the summer.

Last season there were Christmas game inserts with memorabilia from the Christmas games and a Lakers Legacy with the same parameters. This season they are changing it up a little bit. This year they are putting in Throwback Threads, Green Week, and All-Star materials used during those periods over the past two seasons. You will know exactly when in the spectrum of time these jerseys were worn. You can’t say that for 99% of other products.

What impresses me also is that this product, with it’s lower price, will also feature some very nice rookies. You can find dual and triple autographs, rookie autographed materials, and your other basic rookies of breakout performers this season. I know I already mentioned their exclusive players, but I’ll do it again. Kobe and Durantula autos will be had by some.

Panini right now is giving us a peek at the upcoming set, along with some other sets like National Treasures and NBA Hoops for us all to enjoy and take a look at. Almost forgot the official Panini Peek of 2010-11 NBA Season Update! As I didn’t do, make sure you read what they write if you are confused by some pictures and don’t make an ass out of yourself like I did. Some of the items are mismatched on purpose, but I was just so excited to see the photos I skipped a paragraph of reading.

Panini Season Update basketball is scheduled for July 20, 2011. I still think it will be the best deal of the summer.

Now let’s watch Blake Griffin fly. If only there was a way to absorb his powers….

2010-11 Panini Luxury Suite hockey is one of last hockey products I have yet to preview that is set to come out this season. But rest assured, your preview is here hockey fans!

Your next mid-high end product from Panini is Luxury Suite and boy does it look luxurious from the what I can see. Each box will deliver 8 autographs or memorabilia cards. That’s right 8! At least two of them will be autographs, but I’m sure it’s safe to assume that you will find more. This product will be loaded with the hits you want.

There will be 4 packs in a box. Each pack will contain 2 autographs or memorabilia cards. But that’s not all. Every pack will also contain a rookie card. This product will contain a ton of rookies. 125 different rookie cards have made it into Luxury Suite making it one of the biggest crops of rookie cards. All rookies will be numbered to 899 copies so make sure you grab who you want for your collection. 50 of the rookies will contain an autograph or memorabilia on them. Some of these players are the highly collectible Taylor Hall, Jeff Skinner, and Tyler Seguin.

Did I mention yet some of the cool memorabilia cards you can pull from this set? Every base card has a memorabilia insert associated with it. You can pull game used swatches of jerseys, patches, and sticks. Sticks have been under used for the most part when it comes to the hobby and Panini is right there by including game used sticks in their memorabilia pieces. The possibilities of hits in this product are definitely up there with higher end products, but for about half the price. Plus the base parallels numbered to 10 and 1 make it a chase for your favorite players more rare cards.

Now a lot of people have been criticizing the designs by Panini on some of their products. However, those critics will be speechless for some of the designs in this product. In my opinion, this is probably one of those most visually appealing designs that Panini has put together across all their products. Luxury Suite looks great. Nice big patch windows, looks to be on card autographs, and fluid designs featuring the player first and foremost. I would put the designs along the lines of SP Authentic of old with Panini’s own twist to it. It’s definitely a good thing. The rookie patch/autographs look amazing and I really enjoy most of the designs. Good work design team.

The end of June will bring you the most luxurious set to come to Panini hockey for a little under $200. I can’t wait to see some of the cards to come out of this product.

2011 Upper Deck Sweet Spot football is back with all your favorite players in their college glory.

This year, every pack you open will feature an autograph! With 4 packs per box and 8 cards per pack, you are guaranteed 4 autographs from the hottest rookies of the year to some of the great veterans and retired players of the game.

Back again is the on-helmet autographs embedded into the cards. Though I’m not a huge fan of players signing manufactured materials, I think Upper Deck does it right when it comes to that regard if it HAS to be done. The signings on “By the Letter” patches or on other fabrics just look messy and incoherent. Athlete autographs are already messy and incoherent, like my doctor. At least on a hard and smooth surface these autographs come out nicely. There will be two of these on-helmet autographs in every box with several different helmet variations. Also back again is Sweet Beginnings autographed cards and it looks like they are including Ultimate Collection Rookie Signatures in this product as well combining one of their old products with Sweet Spot.

New this year are two different autographed parallels to change things up a little bit. It appears as if Upper Deck has signed on with Todd McShay and Chris Mortensen of ESPN to feature their likeness on a new subset of Scouting Report inserts. These cards feature a picture of the analyst along with some of the players they have reviewed on their scouting reports. Some of these inserts will have an autographed parallel. While I’m not a huge fan of Mortensen or McShay staring at me from the card, I applaud UD for trying something a little different. I wonder what kind of information will be on the back of the card?

There is also the new Sweet Spot Rivalry booklet featuring two on-helmet autographs in booklet form. From the sound of the set and what I can see, it looks like these will feature some of the biggest rivalries in college football with autographs from each side in the booklet. I hope to see a “Civil War” booklet featuring an Oregon and Oregon State autographed helmet on each side. How could you possibly leave out one of the longest rivalries in all of college football?

In all, at a $100 price point for 4 autographs, it appears to be right around where it should be as far as price goes. I know collectors would rather have an NFL licensed product, however, these cards do look sharp and the autographs are just the same as any other product. Upper Deck is the only NCAA license in town, so for those who love college football and the pros, this should be a fun product to open when it comes out at the end of June. Roll Tide.

Note: Okay, I’m not an Alabama fan but I thank the Bama fans who were chanting “Roll Ducks” during the National Championship game. At least you stand by your team and don’t cheer for the whole conference.